Chapter 117

On the day Irene moved in, I threw a small welcome party. Although I called it a move, it was really just a matter of relocating her body. My friend hadn’t brought much luggage; our house had burned down after all.

“What should I buy?”

“Everything I can get my hands on!”

When the delivery Violets bought food in bulk from nearby restaurants, the food quickly made its way to our home through the inventory. Piles of food stacked high on the dining table.

“Isn’t this too much?”

I could feel Irene flinch a bit at the sight of all the food she was preparing. She had bought so much because of special sales and discounts, and yeah, it seemed a bit excessive.

Well, the original tenants would be eating with us anyway, so it didn’t matter. Whatever leftovers, the Violets could handle.

“If it comes down to it, let’s give some to Doctor Uncle as a late-night snack!”

“That’s a good idea.”

Speaking of which, Doctor Uncle had been gaining a bit of weight lately. Since I had let him rest enough, it was time to put him to work again.

“I’ll be inviting the others too! Ah, right. I’m planning to throw a welcome party for everyone. Is that okay?”

“A party sounds… fun.”

While busily preparing, Violet 231 called out to her friends.

First, it was Lucian.

“Hey! Lucian, come out!”

“What…? What do you want?”

Lucian came out with a slightly annoyed tone. The scenery in his room showed several books spread out. Was he studying?

“A party? What are you talking about?”

“Yeah, a new friend just moved in.”

The moment he caught sight of the purple-haired girl standing behind me, his black eyes widened slightly.

“It’s been a few days.”

“What? Why are you here?”

“I moved to the room next door for reasons! We’re going to be living together from now on, so remember that!”

I didn’t bother delving into Irene’s complicated personal circumstances because, well, it was personal.

“…It’s your place, so do whatever you want.”

After informing Lucian, I headed next to the fitness facility next to the dormitory.

If you passed by the stacks of boxes piled up in the factory, there was a space set up somewhat like a fitness room.

In there, Granite was sweating profusely while working out. Upon spotting us, he hastily put down the barbell he had lifted to his chest.

“Oh, it’s the Violets. And next to you is… Irene? What brings you here?”

“I just moved in today. By the way, how’s the place I asked for? Let me know if there’s anything missing!”

“I can’t believe you actually set up a fitness room for me when I asked for it…”

With him informed, the only one left was Levi, who had briefly gone out. I asked the surveillance Violet.

“What’s Levi up to?”

“He’s looking for a job, but the results, well…”

Violet 65 paused, then shared her vision. Violet 231’s view shifted to the city. There was a girl with twin tails getting kicked out of a shop, struggling with a large bag on her back.

“That’s tough. But why is she carrying that old store? It looks heavy.”

“Remember? Just a while ago, she visited the clan office. I think she was trying to do some hunter work.”

Digging through my memory, I could see Levi coming out of an office with a glum look. That place was pretty much like an adventurer’s guild office. They advertised looking for people, but in reality, it was a place that only connected through personal networks, so they wouldn’t take in ordinary female students.

With a tongue click in annoyance, 231 took out her smartphone and sent a text. I told her it was urgent and to come home quickly, so she should show up soon.

“By the way, when are you going to clear out those boxes?”

“I’m moving them to another warehouse tonight.”

In each box piled next to the dormitory, several Violets were wrapped in plastic, in a hibernating state. There were about thirty of them in total. They were moving what had been in the basement.

Of course, not everything in the basement was being moved. I planned to finish the rest after the party tonight.

As the Violets waited, murmuring to one another, thirty minutes later, Levi rushed into the factory, panting. There shouldn’t have been any need to hurry.

“What’s going on…? I’m not late, am I? Is everything okay?”

“Don’t tell me you ran here?”

“Ugh… how did you know?”

Wow, it was true. She ran all the way here from downtown with that huge bag. Impressive!

“That’s odd; I gave you transport fare earlier. Was it not enough?”

“Well, it felt wasteful… since I’m living off charity…”

Ah, that made sense. I understood why. This timid girl felt burdened about spending the money we gave her. If only she could spend without thinking like the other boys.

“Don’t feel too pressured! If I need help later, I’ll ask you. So feel free to spend! Eat as much as you want!”

“Okay…”

I patted Levi’s back and said a few comforting words. I also remembered to mention the party I was throwing later.

“You absolutely have to come!”

Feeling awkward, Levi waved at Irene and went to her room. After finishing a few small tasks, by the time I wrapped up the party preparations, it was evening.

“Done!”

“Now the party can start!”

I called down everyone in the room. After all, everyone was already coming down one by one, drawn by the aroma of the food.

“Wow, it’s a buffet?”

“Can we actually eat all of this?”

“Did you forget what I said earlier? Don’t feel burdened!”

After seating the first two who arrived, Lucian came down as well.

“Isn’t this too big for a welcome party?”

“Then are you not going to eat?”

“No, I will eat.”

Finally, when Irene also came down, I kicked off the party.

“Alright! Let’s give a round of applause for today’s guest of honor!”

“I’m temporarily staying here due to circumstances. Please take care of me.”

As Irene greeted, everyone awkwardly clapped their hands.

“Eat up!”

As everyone started their meal, Lucian rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at the ceiling. He seemed to be deep in thought, playing with his blue hair.

“Are you sick? Or is it that the food doesn’t suit your taste?”

When I asked, Lucian turned his gaze towards me and slowly shook his head.

“No, no. I actually wanted to ask Irene something.”

“What is it?”

“Could it be that you’re also involved?”

I tilted my head, pondering what he meant, when Irene cleared up my confusion.

“No, it’s not about academy matters. It’s personal, so please don’t pry.”

“I see. At least it’s a relief it’s not about being student council president. I wonder how the first-place and second-place students ended up like this.”

At those words, Levi, who had been focusing on her meal, looked around with the alarmed look of a startled rabbit. Granite froze, holding a chicken leg. The atmosphere in the dining room became heavy. Realizing he’d ruined the mood, Lucian made a grimace.

“I need to get some fresh air.”

He quickly left as if fleeing. Nonetheless, the atmosphere in the dining room remained unfavorable. Everyone felt down, thinking about their situations.

“Ugh…”

“I wonder if my grandma is doing well…”

The party was barely underway when it hit a snag. Everyone’s appetite seemed to vanish, and one by one, they made excuses to leave.

“Everyone’s really troubled, huh…”

Irene sighed. We sat in silence for some time as we continued our meal.

“Irene, what are you going to do moving forward?”

“I’ve applied for a leave of absence. By the way, Violet.”

I met my friend’s calm yet serious golden gaze.

“What are you preparing these days?”

“Preparing?”

“Since you declared to Daphne and me you’d break the academy, I sensed you’ve been busier than ever. Even now, I assume some of you are up to something somewhere.”

As I mulled over my friend’s intentions, Irene clasped her hands. Then she pulled her chair closer to me while still seated.

“But you never told me what you plan to do all this time. I’ve waited long enough, but I’d like to know what you’re planning next.”

I felt a jolt. We weren’t ready to tell yet.

What I was preparing to tackle the academy was more aggressive and dangerous than anyone could imagine. I intended to explain everything once all preparations were complete.

“Ugh! Irene, can we talk about that later?”

“You have no reason not to say it now.”

From Irene’s tone, it was straightforward yet carried an intimidating air. I finally managed to reply to her firm stance.

“I can’t explain everything. The plan isn’t finalized yet! And it’s extremely dangerous.”

“Is it something you can’t explain to your friend?”

“Not exactly, but…”

I trailed off. Irene’s inquiry didn’t stop there.

“And where did those weapons come from? I may not be a soldier, but I know a bit about weapons. Initially, when you used that homemade bomb, I accepted it as whatever; but yesterday’s weapons? Not only was there a machine gun, but you even used a rocket launcher. That’s not something a mere student can get.”

I froze.

“Okay, fine. I’ll explain everything…”

I was left scratching my head in embarrassment.

“But it’s going to take a while. And don’t get mad or be too shocked, okay?”

The tense atmosphere lingering around us finally softened up a bit.

“First, before I explain, I’ll ask a question too. You said you got a contact from the scholarship officer, right? I have some info and materials I’ve gathered. Could you report them later?”

“I’ll do that. Now, can you explain? What are you going to do moving forward?”

“Got it. So what I was thinking was…”

“Kya, kyaaaah!”

Suddenly, the scream that rang out made Irene look confusedly towards the door. A scream echoed from the first-floor hallway of the dormitory.

“What on earth is that?”

And I instinctively sensed that I had a painful situation looming ahead.

“Ahh! We’ve been found!”

“Our bodies!”

The sound of thudding footsteps came down the stairs, accompanied by various voices consecutively shouting.

“What’s going on? …a corpse!”

“What’s this fuss about? …This is crazy!”

Followed by the sound of shouting. Irene, perplexed, stood up from her seat.

“Ugh! Irene, wait here for just a moment!”

I dashed down the first-floor corridor. The basement door was wide open. I could see three shocked faces standing right by the bottom of the stairs.

As I went down, there were Violets piled up on the shelves under the dim light, still wrapped in plastic.

This is strange. I specifically locked the basement door!

Lucian looked from me to the wrapped hibernating Violets, then spoke up.

“W-what’s this? What’s going on here…?”

“I told you not to go into the basement! And how did it open? It was definitely locked!”

Levi answered in my stead.

“I didn’t open it. It was already open. I just thought the light was on in there. I just went in to turn it off…!”

This is driving me insane. I must’ve gotten distracted and forgotten to lock the door during the moving process. Everything was supposed to finish today, and now this nonsensical scenario is unfolding.

“Look, there seems to be a misunderstanding… that’s my clone.”

I hurriedly moved to clarify. I transferred my consciousness into one of the bodies wrapped in plastic on the shelf. A Violet abruptly sat up, waving its hand.

“See? It’s a clone, right? Look, it moves!”

“Kyaaaah! The corpse is moving!”

“Ah! Aaaah!”

Levi shrieked again. Granite paled, backing away and collapsing.

My attempt to clarify seemed to have backfired. Lucian extended his arms forward and activated a magic circle.

“You! What are you? A ghoul?!”

“I told you, that’s my clone!”

“Don’t lie! There’s no such thing as a clone that looks like that! That clearly looks like a corpse!”

It seemed they had misconstrued the situation massively.

And terrified, Levi couldn’t hold it anymore and bolted outside.

“Kya! Kyaaaaah! Nooooo!”

While I was left dumbfounded, the other two pushed me and ran out of the basement.

“Damn it, let’s go!”

“Ugh!”

“Wait? They’re fleeing!”

“Grab them first!”